Lets get personal......

[Thomzo]

It had never occured to me that the water could be a problem but now you come to mention it, it does make sense.

I used to visit some friends near Newbury quite regularly. I noticed that their water tasted strongly of chlorine and drinking it out of the tap really upset my stomach and made me feel quite sick.

From the sound of it, I get off quite lightly with my symptoms. It's mostly just the gas that's a problem. I have fainted a couple of times because of the pain. If I am really bad now, I sit on the loo and squeeze my tummy area really hard. It forces the gas out.

The other thing I have noticed (men stop reading now) is that my symptoms change throughout the month, getting a lot worse towards the end of the month.

I really shouldn't be reading this thread while I eat my lunch. But it might do my diet good.

Zoe

[Millymollymandy]

Chadspad - I certainly think people talk about things more - look at us now! I couldn't believe there were so many people suffering similar probs, just on this one forum!

Also it is easier to talk about things like this on a forum than face to face - you (i.e. one) might discuss it with your mum or your hubby/wife, but do you really discuss this sort of thing with friends? I don't!

[chadspad]

I have told best friends but its not the sort of thing u drop into everyday conversation lol.

I wonder whether we (the nation as a whole) are eating better or worse than before and thats having an affect on people or that theres less nutritional value in food - just something thats making us sicker than our great-grandparents etc.

[the.fee.fairy]

Personally, my theory is that we're shoving more and more unneccessary crap into our food that our bodies are reacting to it.

An example is that if i eat pork/bacon from anywhere generic, then i have problems. Whenever i've eaten fresh, or organic (preferably both...) bacon, then i've not had a problem, or less of a problem than normal.

Someone told me years ago that it might be a 'pork additive' that i was reacting to, and i think they're right.

[Thomzo]

I worked for a company that prepared cooked meats for supermarkets. I was absolutely shocked when I realised just how many additives are put into these products. Before I worked there, I thought that cooked ham was just that but no it's full of all sorts of nasties.

Zoe

[chadspad]

Maybe thats what it is then, all these nasties that are in our food now making our bodies intolerant to stuff. Its got to be something like that I think - we have better ways to keep our food with fridges & freezers and yet they put things in jars & cooked meats to make them last longer. I was amazed to see the gases that were put in the ready made-up lettuce to make it last longer - surely thats not right?

[Martin]

on the subject of meat additives, if you ever see something like "polyphosphates" in the ingredients list, it's a particularly nasty chemical which is injected into the carcass, it's only purpose being to take up atmospheric water to increase the weight (and "value") of it.........
If it's an intensively reared chicken, it'll probably also contain traces of several broad-spectrum antibiotics (fed as growth promoters, and to keep the poor things alive in the atrocious conditions) and piperazine wormers
(close relatives of which are sold as "legal highs")
Organic beckons............

[the.fee.fairy]

Shame those legal highs never work, otherwise you might just have convinced me to to non-organic for a minute...

[chadspad]

They kinda work if u take about 4 packets of them

[Midori]

I've had IBS for years, and I've also been recntly diagnosed with Fibromyalgia to boot!

I find peppermint tea good also Ginger tea, alhough my doc has recently put me on something to reduce my stomsch acids.

I don't take the full dosages of my pills, my doc knows this and trusts me to medicate myself according to how bad my symptoms are, I find it helps me to remain fairly balanced and at manageable pain levels.

[chadspad]

So the peppermint and ginger teas - are they teabags or oils?

[possum]

teabags or better for the environment if you use loose leaf, easy enough to dry your own peppermint.

[chadspad]

I have been closely monitoring my food these past few days and my stomach (and bottom) seem to have remained under control. Last night I had spag bog and as a tester, having read Masco&Bongo's reply about the sauce, I used the normal jar of sauce that I usually have. Within a few mouthfuls my stomach was bubbling like mad and has continued all this morning so I know what comes out the other end will be affected somewhere along the line too. Next time I will try it with homemade sauce and see if it was the sauce or the mince (altho mince I buy here is literally great lumps of beef which I watch the butcher mince so should just be pure meat and no additives?).

Have also found, like M3 said, that if I can keep passing wind it kind of keeps the bubbling from building up too much and beckoning a problem the other end. Not easy for me tho as when I was about 7 my Dad told me that it was rude to do it in public and that I had to leave the room if I wanted to do it. Talk about hang up now - ive never been able to pass wind in front of anyone even my hubby of 12 years!

[mrsflibble]

I know they're probably not all that good... but "preggie pops" and their cousing "queasypops" often help my aunt with her bloating.

[yugogypsy]

Chad,

My guess is candida albicans or systemic thrush-do you have a white coating on your tongue when you brush your teeth? Brush tongue too and get the Doc to test for thrush(simple throat swab) and have a look at www.fungusfocus.com.

I've had it off and on for several years. Its often aggravated by any mold in your environment. Clean any mold with a mix of salt and vinegar

Stay away from blue cheeses and other mold injected cheeses. Moderate your sugar and carbohydrate intake, as that is what it feeds on and drink things that are acidic like tomto juice(add some lemon juice for extra acid) and eat lots of fresh fruit.(it dies in an acid environment) Try the probiotic, and there are several herbal pills for it . I use Sisu's Citribiotic. Also use yogurt with live probiotic cultures in it, a bit more expensive, but worth it.

Dr's standard treatment is Nystatin which is a sulfa drug and I'm allergic to it.

Hope that helps

Lois